Baseball in the 1960's

Monday, March 6, 2023

The Rock & The Stick Pitch Mixed

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Tim Nathan, of Madison Heights, MIC, who correctly identified Mickey Lolich as the World Series home run hitting pitcher who had a ridiculously high ERA the seasons before. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

NEW TRIVIA CONTEST: By answering the TRIVIA QUESTION CORRECTLY you are automatically entered into a weekly drawing for a Starbucks Gift Card. YOU MUST ENTER VIA THE EMAIL AT THE END OF THIS COLUMN. Don't forget to put your mailing address in with the answer so if you win we can send you the gift card in the mail.

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: The answer to last weeks trivia question is Mickey Lolich.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Against what team did Indians outfielder Rocky Colavito pitch in 1958?

Every once in a while fans are treated (well treated may be a little strong) to a fielder who gets to pitch in the big leagues. A blow out game, too many double headers, an overworked relief staff can all be contributing factors. However, in late August, 1968 Yankee fans saw double. Both outfielder Rocky Colavito and shortstop Gene Michael pitched in back to back games.

For Yankee manager Ralph Houk, the excuse was too many double headers. From August 23-30, New York would play five double headers, or 13 games in about a week! That would screw up any pitching staff. So when things got out of hand, or so Houk thought, on the 25th of August The Rock was called on to pitch.

When starter Steve Barber couldn't get out of the fourth inning trailing 5-0 to the Tigers, Colavito came in with runners on first and second and one out. Facing the heart of the Tiger's order, he got HOFer Al Kaline to ground out and Willie Horton to fly out to end the rally. Over the next two innings he allowed just a walk and a hit but no runs.

In the sixth the roof caved in on the Tigers' Pat Dobson. The Yanks scored five runs including one by Colavito who had a hit in the inning. Since the club had scored one in the 4th, they now led the Tigers 6-5. Dooley Womack and Lindy McDaniel came in to shut them down. Colavito walked away with a win. 6-5.

The next day Michael the light hitting shortstop who would later become the club's GM, was called on as well. Houk was hoping for similar results but it wasn't to be. Trailing 5-1 to the Angels, Houk decided Al Downing had had enough. It started well as Michael (nicknamed "the Stick" because he was so thin) had a 1-2-3 inning striking out pitch Jim McGlothlin in the process.

The eighth inning was not so kind. An error, a hit batter, a pair of doubles and two singles later, five runs had scored and it was 10-1 Angels. He mercifully got out of it and pitched a scoreless ninth striking out Rich Riechardt in the process. In the big inning McGlothlin got revenge banging one of those doubles. Michael did go 1-1 in the game himself to raise his BA to .194. Colavito played the outfield.

That was the end of Michael's pitching career. Colavito had actually pitched once before in 1958. He tossed three scoreless, hitless innings to close out a game for the Indians. So in two appearances spread over 10 years Colavito never gave up a run in almost six innings. Before he signed with the Pirates, Michael was offered an NBA contract but turned it down. He said as a player it was his biggest mistake.

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Monday, February 27, 2023

Oh for the Mound of 1968 - Guest Column

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Tim Nathan of Madison Heights, MI, who correctly identified Bobby Knoop of the Angels as the 1966 AL leader in Triples. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: The Angels Bobby Knoop led the 1966 AL in Triples.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Who was the pitcher who had the highest ERA among qualifiers in his league one year and hit a World Series home run in another year, during the 1960s?

This week we present a series of Guest Columns. If you wish to submit a column for review to be published here in Baseball in the 1960s, just send your thoughts to brillpro@gmail.com.

The Effects of the Lowered Mound by Aaron Wolen of Fishers, IN.

In the aftermath of 1968 commonly referred to as the Year of the Pitcher, when MLB scoring levels hit an all-time low during the Live Ball Era, MLB over-reacted by lowering the pitching
mound from fifteen inches to ten. The best aspect of that change was the mandate
that all mounds had to have the same height and slope starting in 1969.

The results that season were mixed. Twenty-four "qualified" pitchers had an ERA
lower than 3.00. Clearly that was a very talented group. The most improved
pitchers were Dick Bosman, who led the AL with his 2.19 ERA after struggling
previously; and Rick Wise, whose unsightly 4.54 ERA was the worst in MLB in
1968, checked in with 3.23 in 1969. Joe Coleman and Catfish Hunter individually had nearly identical pitching statistics in 1968 and 1969. Young veterans Fritz Peterson, Rudy May, Ken Holtzman, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver and Jim Palmer had their best years after 1968.

On the flip side, Don Drysdale incurred a shoulder injury and retired. Larry Jaster, a junk-ball left-hander, Joe Sparma, a hard-throwing righty, and Camilo Pascual, right-handed curveball and high fastball specialist developed command issues they could not resolve, and fell by
the wayside shortly thereafter.

Jim Hardin, George Brunet and Tony Cloninger declined rapidly, and were soon gone. Joel Horlen and Bob Veale began a gradual decline. In another contrast in style, Horlen, a skinny junk-ball right-hander, had a lifetime ERA of 2.66 through 1968, and 4.08 thereafter; Veale, a beefy (pun intended) hard-throwing lefty, went from 2.76 through 1968, to 3.88 the remainder
of his career; both were gone in the early 1970s.

Stan Bahnsen, Steve Blass and Luis Tiant saw their ERAs double from 1968 to
1969, and then made noteworthy adjustments. Bahnsen's ERA in April was 6.23,
and through the rest of the 1969 season it was 3.52, the level at which he stayed
most of his long career. The curve and high fastballs which served him well
in 1968 were ineffective in 1969, so he relied on sliders and low fastballs going
forward. Blass's ERA was 4.46 in 1969, but he improved yearly through 1972.

Tiant's adjustment was more complicated. His ERA was 7.51 through May 15th,
and 2.89 the remainder of 1969, but his overall numbers were ugly. He led the
league in losses, home run pitches and walks that year. Then he struggled two
more years before bouncing back to his 1968 level. He led the AL in
ERA in 1968 and 1972, and led in shutouts in 1968 and 1974. He transitioned
from being a hard thrower in 1968 to being a finesse pitcher in 1972.

It is difficult to determine how much of an effect the mound height had on scoring
in 1969, considering there was also expansion that year, and expansion increases
offense.

Monday, February 20, 2023

Tim McCarver; Wheels Behind the Plate - RIP

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Jack Glover of Dearborn, MI, who correctly identified Orlando Cepeda as the first baseman who was replaced by Willie McCovey . The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: The first baseman who was replaced by Willie McCovey was Orlando Cepeda, although if you said Bill White who was traded in 1959 to make way for McCovey you also got credit.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Who led the American League in Triples in 1966?

This past week longtime St. Louis Cardinal and former broadcaster Tim McCarver passed away at age 81. Here is a look back at a previous column on the speedy catcher who was a controversial announcer.

It's hard to imagine a catcher leading the league in triples but in 1966 the Cardinals Tim McCarver did exactly that. He gathered 13 of them! In fact, he's the only catcher to ever solely lead the league, either league, in triples in the history of modern baseball dating back to 1900. In 1972 Carlton Fisk tied for the league lead in the AL with Joe Rudi. No catcher besides McCarver led the majors in triples.

The 1966 season was an interesting one for the Cardinal catcher. He had been the regular at the position for the past two seasons. He played in more games this season than any other with 150, coming off his lowest of the 1960s the previous year at 113. It was his career high. He made the All-star team for the first time, he had the most hits (149) in his career, and his most at bats (543).

Despite McCarver's efforts the club finished 6th in the National League, well out of contention. The following year however, they rebounded, McCarver again shined and they won the pennant and the World Series.

The fact McCarver hit 13 triples in 1966 was a real phenomenon. Busch Stadium was moderately big but it wasn't like Forbes Field or Yankee Stadium with "triple alleys." It was only 386 to the power alleys and 414 to center. Interestingly enough, seven of the 13 triples were on the road. Of the 13 he hit one off of Sandy Koufax in what was the last and best year of Sandy's career. It came at Dodger Stadium. His last was on September first at home, and he hit two in the spacious Astrodome, but none in Pittsburgh's Forbes Field.

The rest of McCarver's career was involved in controversy on and off the field. Comments he made as a broadcaster infuriated several players and some fans. He was also involved in the Curt Flood trade to the Phillies which touched off the battle over the "reserve" clause.

Despite his 1966 prowess with the league leading 13 triples, he never came close to double digits again in the three bagger department. The most he ever hit aside from 1966 was seven. His career total was 57 over 21 years or 2.71 per year. Subtract the 1966 season and you get 2.0 per year. To say it was a phenomenal season for the Cardinal catcher, would be an understatement.

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